A2Unit 6 · Hospitality · Lesson 60 of 100
Review: dinner at Sitti Halime's
ahla w sahla · wallāhi shbiʿt · ma fīk tʾūl laʾ · dāyme
Goal: Be a polite guest at a family dinner: answer welcomes, accept and refuse food, say what you can do, pass on news and give the right wishes.
Dialogue
The whole family, and Sam, go to Sitti Halime's village for dinner. Everything from unit 6 comes back in one evening: welcoming guests, refusing food politely, the kitchen, "can" and "must", news by phone and mabrūk!
A cool spring evening in Sitti Halime's village. The family has come for dinner, and Sam is invited too.
- Sitti Halimeahla w sahla, ya ḥabāybi! nawwartu!Welcome, my dears! You've lit up my home!
- Samahlan fīki, ya sitti. shukran ʿal-ʿazīme.Thank you, grandma. Thanks for the invitation.
- Sitti Halimetfaḍḍalu, uʾʿodu! il-ʿasha basīṭ: maʾlūbe bass.Come in, sit down! Dinner is simple: just maqluba.
- Linabasīṭ?! ghallabti ḥālik, ya sitti!(Looking at the full table.) Simple?! You shouldn't have, grandma!
- Samṭaʿmha zāki ktīr! yislam īdēki!It's delicious! Bless your hands!
- Sitti Halimeṣaḥḥtēn! khud kamān, ya Sām!Enjoy! Have some more, Sam!
- Samlaʾ, shukran, wallāhi shbiʿt.No, thank you, honestly I'm full.
- Khalillāzim tākol kamān. ʿind sitti ma fīk tʾūl laʾ!You have to eat more. At Grandma's you can't say no!
- Sitti Halimeya Līna, btiʿrafi tuṭbokhi maʾlūbe?Lina, do you know how to cook maqluba?
- Linashwayy. marat ʿammi ʿallamatni, bass ma baʾdarsh aʾlib iṭ-ṭanjara waḥdi!A little. My uncle's wife taught me, but I can't turn the pot over by myself!
- Abu KhalilLīna, abūki ʿat-talafōn! ʾalli: huwwe w immik jāyīn fiṣ-ṣēf!Lina, your dad is on the phone! He told me: he and your mom are coming in the summer!
- Linaʿan jadd?! shtaʾtilhom ktīr!Really?! I've missed them so much!
- Samw ana kamān ʿindi ishi: shtarēt sayyāra!And I've got news too: I bought a car!
- Khalilmabrūk, ya Sām! bass btiʿraf tsūʾ?!Congratulations, Sam! But do you know how to drive?!
- Samalla ybārik fīk! akīd baʿraf!Thanks! Of course I do!
- Sitti Halimeyalla, ṣubbi l-ʾahwe, ya Rana. w inti, ya Līna, khudi hal-ḥrām. id-dinya bard bil-lēl.Come on, Rana, pour the coffee. And you, Lina, take this blanket. It gets cold at night.
- Samdāyme, ya sitti!(He hands back his cup.) May it always be so, grandma!
- Sitti Halimeṣaḥḥtēn, ḥabībi! w fil-ʿīd il-kbīr, kullkom ʿindi!Enjoy, dear! And for Eid al-Adha, you're all coming to me!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| basīṭ | simple; small, slightf. basīṭa; il-ʿasha basīṭ dinner is simple (a modest host's words) |
| ḥrām | blanketplural: ḥrāmāt |
Grammar
What you can now say
- Welcome guests and answer as a guest: ahla w sahla, tfaḍḍalu, nawwartu, ahlan fīki, shukran ʿal-ʿazīme.
- Refuse food politely and thank the cook: wallāhi shbiʿt, khalaṣ, bikaffi, yislam īdēki, ghallabti ḥālik.
- Give kitchen orders: ʾaṭṭʿi, ḥuṭṭi, ṣubbi l-ʾahwe.
- Say "me, him, her" after a verb: ʿallamatni, shufto, aʾlibha.
- Say what you must, can and know how to do: lāzim tākol, ma baʾdarsh, ma fīk, btiʿraf tsūʾ?
- Make a phone call and say "to me, to you": alō, ʾalli, ishtaʾtilhom, rinnilli.
- Give feast wishes and congratulations: ʿīd mbārak, kull sane w inte sālem, mabrūk, ʿuʾbāl ʿindak.
The unit in one table: a man, a woman, several people
| Meaning | to a man | to a woman | to several people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Come in! | tfaḍḍal | tfaḍḍali | tfaḍḍalu |
| You lit up our home! | nawwart | nawwarti | nawwartu |
| answer to ahla w sahla | ahlan fīk | ahlan fīki | ahlan fīkom |
| answer to ṣaḥḥtēn | ʿala ʾalbak | ʿala ʾalbik | ʿala ʾalbkom |
| answer to mabrūk and ʿīd mbārak | alla ybārik fīk | alla ybārik fīki | alla ybārik fīkom |
| Happy feast! | kull sane w inte sālem | kull sane w inti sālme | kull sane w intu sālmīn |
| You're next! | ʿuʾbāl ʿindak | ʿuʾbāl ʿindik | ʿuʾbāl ʿindkom |
The same three endings come back again and again: nothing for a man, -i or -ik for a woman, -u or -kom for several people.
Practice
1Choose the right words
Nour and Rana come to your door together. You say "Come in!"
To several people: -u.
Sitti Halime says khud kamān! You are full. You say:
You arrive and ask Sitti Halime: "How are you?"
To a woman: -ik.
Say: "Yesterday we went to Grandma's."
mbāreḥ "yesterday" needs the past, and "we" is ruḥna.
It is evening in the village, and you need a blanket. You say:
The whole family says mabrūk! to Sam. He answers them all:
2Complete the sentence
ya sitti, ___ ḥālik! = Grandma, you shouldn't have!
Sitti is one woman: ghallabti.
ma ___ aʾlib iṭ-ṭanjara waḥdi. = I can't turn the pot over by myself.
abūki ʿat-talafōn. ___: jāyīn fiṣ-ṣēf! = Your dad is on the phone. He told me: they're coming in the summer!
"To me" is -li: ʾalli.
ya Khalīl, ___ shāy la-Sām! = Khalil, pour Sam some tea!
Khalil is one man: ṣubb.
ʾaddēsh ___? = What time is it?
hādi ___ Khalīl. = This is Khalil's car.
In the construct, sayyāra becomes sayyārit.
3Match the Arabic and the English
basīṭ
ḥrām
ʿazīme
ḍyūf
ṭanjara
shāḥen
4Put the words in order
Welcome! You've lit up our home! (to several people)
I don't know how to drive.
My mother lives in Chicago.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
It is Christmas. Wish Nour's whole family a happy feast.
kull sane w intu sālmīn!
Tell Sam: Call me tomorrow!
rinnilli bukra!
A man says: I'm from Toronto, but I live in Ramallah.
ana min Torōnto, bass sāken fi Rāmalla.
6True or false?
Sitti Halime cooked maqluba.
Lina can turn the pot over by herself.
She says ma baʾdarsh aʾlib iṭ-ṭanjara waḥdi.
Lina's parents are coming in the summer.
Summary
- You can welcome guests and be a polite guest: ahla w sahla, nawwartu, shukran ʿal-ʿazīme.
- You can accept and refuse food: yislam īdēki, wallāhi shbiʿt, dāyme.
- You can say what you must, can and know how to do: lāzim, baʾdar, fīk, baʿraf.
- You can pass on news by phone and answer good news: ʾalli, mabrūk!, alla ybārik fīkom.
- You can give the right wish to a man, a woman or several people.